Polinaut: October 23, 2008 Archive

Rudy stars in Robocall, will campaign with Coleman today

Posted at 8:03 AM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is appearing in a new robocall that bashes Democrat Barack Obama. The news comes on the same day that Giuliani is scheduled to campaign with (and raise money for) GOP Sen. Norm Coleman. Coleman has called on all parties and candidates to stop the negative attacks.

Big Ten Poll: Obama up big in MN, WI and IA

Posted at 8:23 AM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

The latest Big Ten poll shows Barack Obama leading in all of the Big Ten states polled:

Illinois: Obama 61, McCain 32

Indiana: Obama 51, McCain 41

Iowa: Obama 52, McCain 39

Ohio: Obama 53, McCain 41

Michigan: Obama 58, McCain 36

Minnesota: Obama 57, McCain 38

Pennsylvania: Obama 52, McCain 41

Wisconsin: Obama 53, McCain 40

Update: The Pi Press points out that Democrat Al Franken is leading GOP Sen. Norm Coleman in a Senate poll conducted by the same group.

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The Daily Digest: 10-23-08

Posted at 8:54 AM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

One day after saying she said she regretted her comments about Barack Obama, GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann continues to raise criticism of Obama on conservative talk radio. She said "America will be changed forever" if Obama is elected.

Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee has pulled the plug on the last week of ads that were scheduled to run for Bachmann. The Pi Press and the Star Tribune have stories.

The Fix says House Republicans are bowing to political reality.

Democrat El Tinklenberg's new ad reportedly shows video footage of Bachmann on MSNBC. I'll link to it once I find it.

KARE takes a look at the race.

Bachmann writes a blog post criticizing the EPA.

Bachmann's DFL challenger, El Tinklenberg, criticizes the Bush Administration in this blog entry.

Vandalism

The homes of six Minnesota politicians have been vandalized. They are GOP Sen. Norm Coleman, DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar, GOP Rep. John Kline, GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad, DFL Rep. Keith Ellison and GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann.

An Obama sign is attacked with racist messages in Southside Township.

3rd District

The candidates play nice in their latest debate. They also say they'll buck their own parties.

The Minnesota Republican Party will run ads on Paulsen's behalf.

1st District

DFL Rep. Tim Walz gets good ratings from an Afghanistan and Iraq Vet group.

Walz is also scaling back his ad buys in the Twin Cities. Republican Brian Davis is canceling his TV ad buys in the Twin Cities. No link provided since I saw the reports.

2nd District

The Jordan Independent profiles the 2nd.

4th District
MinnPost profiles the 4th.

Race for Senate

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will campaign with Coleman today. Franken will campaign in Austin.

DFLer Al Franken touts the middle class in his pitch about the economy. The Star Tribune and the Pi Press have stories

KARE profiles Franken.

Survey USA says GOP Sen. Norm Coleman's job approval rating has plummeted.

Hillary Clinton stars in the latest Franken ad.

Race for President

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar will appear with a special guest endorsement for Barack Obama today. Oh the Suspense!

The Big Ten poll has Obama up big in Minnesota.

An AP poll says the race is tightening but the Washington Post/ABC poll says Obama's up double digits.

A new poll says religious voters are moving to Obama.

McCain says he would consider a second stimulus package. He also says he's tested.

Obama hits back on McCain's socialism comments.

A study finds that negative media coverage of John McCain is up.

The New York Times takes a look at GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin's wardrobe purchases in Minneapolis.

The McCain campaign says the clothes will go to charity.

Race for Legislature

Gov. Pawlenty is working hard to elect GOP members to the Minnesota House.

2008 Other

Political ad spending in the Twin Cities tops $40 million.

The Center for Responsive Politics will cost $5.3 billion.

Economy

Jobless claims are up.

State Government

The state settles with two annuity firms.

An ex-state employee is indicted for fraud.

Minnesota's job market will continue shrinking in the coming months.

Congress

DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar says he'll fight to secure the pension funds of workers on the Iron Range.

Arne Carlson backs Obama

Posted at 11:25 AM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck (4 Comments)

Former GOP Gov. Arne Carlson just endorsed Barack Obama for president. Carlson said he was a "strong supporter of both Joe Biden and John McCain" during the primary season but was unhappy with the direction McCain's campaign took since the Republican National Convention. Carlson said Obama "has laid out for this nation a vision for a national purpose."

I'll post his audio shortly.

Here's the audio:

Listen

Question of the day: Does this bring any added votes to Obama's campaign?

Update: News Cut takes a look at how Carlson has been closer to Democrats than Republicans in recent years.

UPDATE: When asked about Carlson's endorsement, Gov. Pawlenty said this:

"It's no surprise. Governor Carlson has said many years ago publicly that he has left the Republican Party and I think he was dissatisfied and I think he has declared himself an Independent or a Democrat long ago."

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National Journal Poll: Obama up 10 in MN

Posted at 1:52 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck

The National Journal took a look at three critical swing states for John McCain. The paper has a poll that shows Barack Obama leading McCain in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Here's a portion of the story:

John McCain's options for reaching an Electoral College majority are narrowing: Barack Obama has established double-digit leads in three of McCain's last remaining targets among the states that John Kerry carried in 2004, Allstate/National Journal battleground polls show.

In Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, the polls reveal that McCain is not merely running behind but is also facing deteriorating assessments of his personal qualities, widespread doubts about his running mate's qualifications, and tremendous discontent with President Bush's job performance. All of this is providing a powerful tailwind for Obama.

Tinklenberg's 2nd ad brings up you know what

Posted at 2:43 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Elwyn Tinklenberg, the DFL candidate in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, has released his second ad. It mentions GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann's comments on MSNBC's Hardball. Watch it here:

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Olsons discuss family misunderstandings in campaign video

Posted at 2:44 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tim Pugmire

The campaign website for Republican Mark Olson features a video titled Families Matter, in which Olson and his wife Heidi offer a sometimes tearful explanation for his write-in candidacy.

Olson, of Big Lake, is running in a special election for the open seat in Senate District 16. Local GOP leaders recently reaffirmed their endorsement of Olson, even though he lost in the Republican primary to Alison Krueger. The Democrat in the race is Lisa Fobbe.

The House Republican caucus expelled Olson last year after his conviction for a domestic assault against his wife.

In the video, Olson introduces his wife as "real trooper." Heidi Olson says she encouraged her husband to run for the state Senate. Mark Olson says he's running because he has more to offer.

Rasmussen: Senate race close

Posted at 3:28 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

Rasmussen's latest poll has DFLer Al Franken with a small lead over GOP Sen. Norm Coleman. Franken has support from 41% of those polled. Coleman is getting support from 37%. I-P candidate Dean Barkley is polling at 17%. MOE is +/-4.5%. Here's a round up of the poll results:

Perhaps the most ominous number in the survey for Coleman is that his favorable ratings are lower than those for either of his opponents. Just 46% of Minnesota voters have a favorable opinion of the incumbent senator. Fifty-two percent (52%) have a favorable opinion of Barkley, while 51% say the same about Franken.

For Franken, it might be troubling that a lot of people strongly dislike him. Thirty-one percent (31%) have a Very Unfavorable view of the former comedian. Just 24% are that unhappy with Coleman and only nine percent (9%) dislike Barkley that much.

The relative unpopularity of both major party candidates helps explain Barkley's strong showing. The Independent candidate is supported by 10% of Republicans, seven percent (7%) of Democrats and 31% of those not affiliated with either major party (see full demographic crosstabs).

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NRCC explains decision to not run ads in the 6th

Posted at 3:37 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Roll Call quotes an official with the National Republican Congressional Committee saying there has been some "misreporting" on their decision to yank scheduled ad time for GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann.

In the e-mail, NRCC Communications Director Karen Hanretty sought to clarify what she called "misreporting" on the committee pulling its ads in Bachmann's re-election race. Hanretty maintained that the NRCC never ran ads in Bachmann's district, and said the NRCC's independent expenditure unit reserved time but chose not to use it.

"There are more paths to victory for Republican candidates than we have money to fund," Hanretty wrote. "Some candidates, like Congresswoman Bachmann, are sitting on more than $1 million cash on hand in districts that President Bush won in 2004 by double digits."

The NRCC initially reserved two weeks of ad time for Bachmann at all four Twin Cities broadcast stations. They cut the time last week and decided on Monday to not run any ads at all.

Rasmussen: Obama doubles lead in MN

Posted at 4:37 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Rasmussen's latest poll has Barack Obama up 15 points in Minnesota. The polling group says he gets there by attracting a greater number of unaffiliated voters. President Bush's low approval rating (27%) may also be causing a drag to McCain.

Secretary of the Minnesota Senate to retire

Posted at 5:03 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck

DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller announced that Pat Flahaven will retire as Secretary of the Senate at the end of the year. Flahaven has been a mainstay at the State Capitol since he was elected to the post in 1973. He is the second longest serving Secretary of Senate nationwide.

Flahaven served in a nonpartisan role that was part traffic cop, part parliamentarian and part referee. Anyone who watched Senate TV over the past three decades know his face and voice.

Pat is also a wonderfully nice person who always has a smile on his face. I hope he enjoys retirement. I know many people (including myself) will miss his face and voice around the Capitol.

"It's ok Tim, I'm going to lose anyway..."

Posted at 5:16 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

That's the line that steals the show in this funny video that promotes the Minnesota Business Partnership. It features the U.S. Senate candidates, Gov. Pawlenty and a bucket load of state lawmakers (as well as some MBP members and lobbyists).

The video ran earlier this month at the Minnesota Business Partnership's annual meeting. Kristian Berg produced it. David Gillette wrote the lyrics.

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Rudy and Hillary

Posted at 9:20 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Minnesota had some visits from a few New Yorkers in the past week. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned with GOP Sen. Norm Coleman today. You can listen to his speech here.

Listen

Meanwhile, New York Senator Hillary Clinton campaigned for DFLer Al Franken earlier this week. You can listen to her speech here.

Listen

Thanks to MPR's Mark Zdechlik for giving me the audio.

New ad hits Franken on taxes

Posted at 9:29 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck

We reported yesterday that Americans for Job Security would start running ads in the Twin Cities this week. The ad criticizes DFLer Al Franken on his tax plan. You can watch it here.

Survey USA Poll: Minnesota's 6th a dead heat

Posted at 10:06 PM on October 23, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Survey USA has a new poll out that takes a look at the race in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. The poll shows the race is a statistical dead heat when you factor in the Margin of Error.

47% of those polled back DFL challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg. 44% support GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann. 6% support I-P candidate Bob Anderson. 2% are undecided. The MOE is +/-4%.

This is the first poll taken since Bachmann made her controversial comments on MSNBC's Hardball last Friday. It won't be the only poll on the race. MPR will release a poll on the 6th District Race tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile, a GOP operative tells Politico that the GOP is all but "writing off" Bachmann's seat. The story focuses on the trouble the NRCC is having when it comes to protecting GOP this year.

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